Nicodemus Tessin d.y.
The architect behind the Royal Palace in Stockholm.
Nicodemus Tessin the Younger designed the Royal Palace in Stockholm after the fire of 1697 and continued his father's work on Drottningholm. He brought the Roman and French Baroque to Sweden.
Nicodemus Tessin the Younger was born in Nyköping in 1654. His father, Nicodemus Tessin the Elder, was one of Sweden's foremost architects and designed, among other buildings, Drottningholm Palace and Kalmar Cathedral. The son received a thorough education and in 1673–78 made a long study tour of Italy and France. In Rome he studied Baroque architecture and, by his own account, met Bernini. Later he also travelled to Paris and Versailles to study French architecture and garden design.
When his father died in 1681, the son took over his offices. He completed Drottningholm Palace and its large Baroque garden. He also designed his own palace on Slottsbacken in Stockholm, the Tessin Palace, with a small garden in the French style. It is now the residence of the Governor of Stockholm County.
His great task was the Royal Palace in Stockholm. In the 1690s he rebuilt the old Tre Kronor Castle. When it burned down on 7 May 1697, he was commissioned to design an entirely new palace. He created a large, square building around a courtyard, inspired by Roman palaces. Construction was halted during the Great Northern War, and the palace was not ready to be occupied until 1754, after his death. His son Carl Gustaf Tessin and the architect Carl Hårleman led the continued work.
Tessin was also an influential courtier. He was made a count and served as a member of the Council of the Realm. He drew up a proposal for rebuilding the Louvre for Louis XIV, which was never carried out. He died in Stockholm in 1728.
Tessin brought the international Baroque to Sweden and created the most monumental building in Swedish history. The Royal Palace still dominates the centre of Stockholm.